Dems to seek troop reductions in Iraq (1 Viewer)

[Trajan Octavian Titus]

Dems to seek troop reductions in Iraq

Panel reviewing war strategy may make suggestions by year's end

By SHERYL GAY STOLBERG and MARK MAZZETTI
New York Times

WASHINGTON - Democratic leaders in the Senate vowed Sunday to use their new congressional majority to press for troop reductions in Iraq within a matter of months, stepping up pressure on the administration just as President Bush is to be interviewed by a bipartisan panel examining future strategy for the war.

The Democrats — the incoming majority leader, Sen. Harry Reid, of Nevada; the incoming Armed Services Committee chairman, Sen. Carl Levin, of Michigan; and the incoming Foreign Relations Committee chairman, Sen. Joseph Biden, of Delaware — said that a phased redeployment of troops would be their top priority when the new Congress convenes in January, even before investigating the conduct of the war.

"We need to begin a phased redeployment of forces from Iraq in four to six months," Levin said in an appearance on the ABC News program This Week. Later, in a telephone interview, Levin added, "The point of this is to signal to the Iraqis that the open-ended commitment is over and that they are going to have to solve their own problems."

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/world/4329683.html

There's the strategy people, cut and run within months, we said it all along and now the Democrats have tilted their hand, it's out of the bag we are going to surrender to the insurgency and tuck tail, this is going to be a disaster of monumentous proportions, the Jihadists are going to seize power in Iraq and all the resources contained therin, and their percieved victory there will inspire them to attack targets elsewhere. The Democrats are going to pave the way for a super Taliban type regime in Iraq and increase the terrorists strenght exponentially.

 

[KidRocks]

There's the strategy people, cut and run within months, we said it all along and now the Democrats have tilted their hand, it's out of the bag we are going to surrender to the insurgency and tuck tail, this is going to be a disaster of monumentous proportions, the Jihadists are going to seize power in Iraq and all the resources contained therin, and their percieved victory there will inspire them to attack targets elsewhere. The Democrats are going to pave the way for a super Taliban type regime in Iraq and increase the terrorists strenght exponentially.

See what President Bush unleashed with his invasion of Iraq? We told you so!

President Bush unleashed a disaster of monumentous proportions. It will be the end of the world as we know it!

President Bush is the anti-Christ I tell you, the antiChrist! :roll:

 

[shuamort]

There's the strategy people, cut and run within months, we said it all along and now the Democrats have tilted their hand, it's out of the bag

You make it sound like this wasn't known before. This has been public knowledge prior to the election:

Friday, November 03, 2006

Democratic Sens. Carl Levin and Jack Reed said their party will attempt to pass legislation to begin bringing some troops home immediately.

"We want to end the open-ended commitment of our troops, and we want to begin, at least by the end of the year, the reduction of American forces," Levin said.

 

[Trajan Octavian Titus]

You make it sound like this wasn't known before. This has been public knowledge prior to the election:

Friday, November 03, 2006

They were saying a troop reduction then now they're saying a total redeployment.

 

[jujuman13]

TOT,
Do tell or at least give us the benefit of your wisdom as to what the US Military should do to stabilize the situation in Iraq?
I am absolutely certain that the President and the rest of us will. hang with baited breath on your words of wisdom.

In other words, put up or shut up.

 

[Trajan Octavian Titus]

TOT,
Do tell or at least give us the benefit of your wisdom as to what the US Military should do to stabilize the situation in Iraq?
I am absolutely certain that the President and the rest of us will. hang with baited breath on your words of wisdom.

In other words, put up or shut up.

Don't leave until the Iraqi government asks us to, do what has been done in every successful counter-insurgency operation in history, stabilize the coalition government, prop-up the Iraqi security apparatus until it is capable of defending itself, and even after the defense force is self sustaining maintain a large but relatively reduced military presence to subsidize the Iraqi regulars.

 

[DeeJayH]

TOT,
Do tell or at least give us the benefit of your wisdom as to what the US Military should do to stabilize the situation in Iraq?
I am absolutely certain that the President and the rest of us will. hang with baited breath on your words of wisdom.

In other words, put up or shut up.

WOW TOT

dodoman has promoted you to a Joint Chief, or Secretary of Defense
guess he holds your input in very high esteem

 

[Kandahar]

Don't leave until the Iraqi government asks us to,

So you're willing to stay there for 50 years under the same conditions we face today, if that's what it takes?

do what has been done in every successful counter-insurgency operation in history,

And what, pray tell, is that. Be specific please.

stabilize the coalition government, prop-up the Iraqi security apparatus until it is capable of defending itself,

Those aren't solutions, those are goals.

 

[Trajan Octavian Titus]

So you're willing to stay there for 50 years under the same conditions we face today, if that's what it takes?

No counterinsurgency generally takes between 10-15 years to be successful but we would only need to be there in until the Iraqi's can take over counterinsurgent operations by themselves, I would still keep a fairly large contingent of American troops there to compliment the Iraqi regulars, as well as, continue to provide them with logistical and air support.

And what, pray tell, is that. Be specific please.

I already told you we need to solidify the Iraqi government and prop up the Iraqi security forces to a self sustaining level that is how counterinsurgency wars are won. More often than not native forces are successful against insurgencies but only if the government is able to sustain itself both economically and defensively with a minimum of U.S. support.

Those aren't solutions, those are goals.

The goals are the solutions, the Iraqi government needs to be able to last long enough to defeat the insurgency if we pull out before the Iraqi government is ready for us to leave the government will collapse and the insurgents will take over, however, if the government can sustain itself the insurgency will fail.

In the mean time while the Iraqi government is still weak we need to overwhelm the insurgency with our own forces IE add a whole sh!t load of more troops, if we would have followed the Powell doctrine of overwhelming force instead of Rumsfeld's failed of limited war the insurgency would never have materialized to such a degree and would now be a footnote of history.